Deep in the heart of Dunedin, there sat a small, friendly, blue house. Tucked away from the curb and protected by beautiful greenery, it succeeded at being unobtrusive and unassuming without feeling secretive or aloof. A cozy hammock spot hid in one corner, shaded by the palm trees that protected the home. A small fire pit and a permanent serving table stood safely apart from it all; yet even this was connected to the home by a long chain of string lights that must have given it a warm and familiar glow in the evenings. One can easily imagine an intimate gatherings of friends or family, sharing a beer and a weekday evening in a small, safe corner of the world.
An Era of Decline
But by the summer of 2020, those evenings had long passed. The family gatherings and friendly hangouts were distant memories. The trees overgrew and blocked part of the driveway. The hinges no longer supported the gate in the fence, which itself grew a layer of moss. And so the city of Dunedin hung a sign on the front door declaring the house “vacant and/or abandoned.” The realtor placed a “for sale” sign out front. The garage was boarded up. They changed the locks. But at the height of a global pandemic, real estate is not a priority for many. And so the house stood empty. Alone. Finally, a decision was made. We were called in to demolish the whole house, to simply make it go away.
Demolition Day
Into this quiet and idyllic Dunedin neighborhood rolled our truck drivers, towing our excavators and a series of roll-off dumpsters. In short order, the excavator operator began to rip the roof from the front of the house. One room, one area at a time, he pulled down the roof and knocked in the walls. First it was the master bedroom and front bathroom. Then he worked his way down the front hallway, dropping the crushed remains of the attic where the family photos might have once hung. The hallway led to the kitchen, although the two quickly became indistinguishable. Charming fairy lights still hung in the family room in the rear of the house, preserving the memory of better times until the last moment. Soon they, too, were nothing but scrap.
Every so often, demolition would pause as a new dumpster or dump truck rolled in. Metal and wire filled one dumpster, and concrete and wood took their own containers as well. Each departed in turn for their own destination – wood for a nearby scrap yard, metal and concrete bound for (Weintraub Recycling)[wrclfa.com], our own recycling yard. As each filled to capacity, a driver towed it away. By this process, the cozy Dunedin house disappeared entirely over the course of two days.
If you need any residential demolition, please reach out. We would be happy to give you a free estimate on any job you need done. If you need a shed taken down, a pool demolished, or a house cleared away, we have you covered. Give us a shout sometime!